Papatoetoe

Papatoetoe

Papatoetoe is a suburb in the Auckland conurbation in northern New Zealand. One of the larger suburbs of the area commonly known as South Auckland, it is located to the northwest of central Manukau, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland city centre....

 train station is on the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network in New Zealand. It is between Station Road and Shirley Road, across the street from Papatoetoe West School, and has an island platform

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...

 layout.

History

Papatoetoe was originally called Papatoitoi, a corruption of its true name. The name was corrected in 1907, by the New Zealand Railways Department

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

, because of the obvious discrepancy with the town it served, which has always been spelt as "Papatoetoe".

Old Station Building

The old station building, restored by the Papatoetoe Railway Station Preservation Trust

Papatoetoe Railway Station Preservation Trust

The Papatoetoe Railway Station Preservation Trust, , was formed after a public meeting in 1996 to restore Papatoetoe station building, parts of which date back to 1875, which was facing demolition....

, has been moved to the corner of Station Road, Shirley Road, Tavern Lane & St George Street. Parts of this building dated back to 1875. A new station was constructed on the present site.

The old station is an integral part of the area's history, with Old Papatoetoe developing as a commercial centre.

Timeline

Year	Notes
1875	The railway line from Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...  reached Papatoetoe Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in the Auckland conurbation in northern New Zealand. One of the larger suburbs of the area commonly known as South Auckland, it is located to the northwest of central Manukau, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland city centre.... . The first railway station was built between May and August and named Papatoitoi Station (note spelling). The building was on the western side of the present road bridge.
1887	The stationmaster was removed from the station due to the financial depression. The station became an unofficered flag station until 1914.
1907	The station name was changed to Papatoetoe.
1914	The station had two rooms added to it, and was open for all business, with a new stationmaster being appointed. Reports list the station as being moved to the western side of the track.
1918	The station was moved and resited.
1919	The station reopened, with a 14-ft diameter railway windmill and a 6000-gallon water vat. These provided water for the station and for locomotive Locomotive A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th... s that shunted or turned at Papatoetoe. A peaked roof and verandah Verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure... s were added during this time.
1926	The reinforced concrete road bridge south of the station was built by the Public Works Department, replacing a temporary wooden structure.
1928	A row of railway houses was built in Station Road, on the west side of the station. Fabricated sections were supplied by the New Zealand Railways House Factory, Frankton Frankton, New Zealand There are two towns called Frankton in New Zealand:* Frankton, Otago is located close to Queenstown in the South Island* Frankton, Waikato is located close to Hamilton in the North Island... .
1942	The windmill and water tower were removed after the station was connected to the town water supply.
1976	After a burglary, the goods shed Goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door... was set alight and burnt down.
1987	Staff were withdrawn after a centralisation of booking offices.

External links

• Stations on the Move - includes Papatoetoe Station